Teletypewriter (TTY) Protocol/Tips

How To Operate Personalized Station Features

When taking a phone call from a deaf or speech impaired individual via a TTY phone, upon answering the phone, you will hear beeps or nothing at all. Place the receiver on the TTY machine. (Follow the picture on top of the TTY to make sure the receiver is placed correctly. If it is not positioned on the machine properly the TTY will not function suitably.)

Begin by typing ‘Hello this is UNC Pembroke’, include the department and identify yourself.

If you make a mistake while typing it is okay to leave the mistake if it is understandable. If not instead of hitting the backspace just type “XXX” to let the caller know to ignore the preceding letter, word, sentence, or concept.

It is okay to use abbreviations especially if you are a weak typist.

When getting addresses and numbers it may be necessary to repeat what you have just read to make sure it is correct.

GA means “Go Ahead” and is a separate key on the TTY. GA needs to be used after each exchange to notify the caller that you are done keying and are ready for them to reply. You should wait until the caller signals GA for you to begin typing again.

HD means that you are going to put them on hold. If it is going to be a long time, continue to type, “HD I am checking or she will be with you or etc…”

SK means “Stop keying”. It is proper TTY protocol to allow the individual who made the phone call to initiate ending the call with SK. Upon seeing SK, you should hang up the phone. (SK is comparable to the hearing word ‘bye’).

After each call please remember to turn the phone off and then back on again.

Last but not least, remember that there will be a printed copy of whatever you typed for both you and the caller. It may be beneficial to keep a copy of the phone call for back-up purposes. The printed copy may fade with time so you may want to copy it and place it in the clients file.

NC Relay Protocol/Tips

Relay is a tool used by deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech impaired individuals to facilitate communication via telephone access from a voiced party and a teletypewriter (TTY) user or vise versa.

To make a Relay call, dial 711 from any phone (cell or business) or 800-877-8339. An operator will answer and ask which number you are trying to dial. The operator will dial the number and notify the second party that someone is attempting to contact them via Relay services. The operator will notify you that the requested party is on the phone and you may begin speaking. The operator will type everything you say to the second party on the other end. At anytime when you have finished making a statement you need to say the words “Go Ahead” this allows the operator to alert the other person on the other end that it is their time to begin responding. The typed message will appear on the TTY of the second party.

When receiving a Relay call, upon answering the phone, an operator will state that they are a Relay operator and someone is attempting to call your agency via Relay. The operator will ask if you are familiar with Relay. The operator will begin speaking exactly as the individual is keying, using the same protocol with GA (Go Ahead) and SK (Stop Keying). Be patient as the phone call may take a little longer.

Always speak to the person directly ignoring the operator. For example avoid using statements like tell her/him. The operator will type everything you say.

It is important to note that it is the operator who will set the pace of the conversation, they may ask you to slow down or speed up your speaking pace.

Last but not least, remember that there will be a printed copy of whatever you said for the other party.